Starting a business used to be a fairly straightforward process. It may not have been easy, but it certainly didn’t subject entrepreneurs to a deluge of competing opinions like those faced by today’s business owners. There are some persistent truths which are rarely challenged due to their successful track record in successful companies. There are also many misconceptions about starting a business.

Everyone wants to be seen as an individual, capable of free will, high intelligence and independent thought. Nowhere is this more true than when in the workplace. As memorable as one may think he or she is due to their strong work ethic, they may actually be lost among the others in a sea of co-workers.

Overall, great news for our fair city with a 25% increase in funds raised in 2013 over the year before. This last year, we saw a record high of over $1 billion raised with 200 launches and 25 successful exits which yielded $1.11 billion.
These figures, among others, indicate LA’s digital startups aren’t simply keeping pace with past years, but exceeding them.

The United States is the economic powerhouse that it is because of a culture of innovation, entrepreneurs, and the “can do” attitude that makes it so distinct. While we entertain startup strategies such as being lean or agile, it’s impossible to ignore that, for example, LA has a culture of entertainment, Nashville that of music, New York, a culture of finance and fashion, and Silicon Valley, indeed, a culture of disruptive innovation.

Be Great Partners, a Los Angeles technology incubator, has recently released a report on the startup community in LA and the information shows a positive growth for startups here in LA. Los Angeles is 3rd in the global startup ecosystem, behind Tel Aviv and Silicon Valley. 94 new startups have launched since January 2013 to June 2013 and the startup ecosystem has raised $500 million in funding in 2013 so far. The numbers are promising and even with some problems arising in LA’s startup community, LA has found ways to keep pushing through.

Motorists in San Francisco will from today have access to real-time availability of garage and street parking with ParkMe’s launch in the city, a move that will save their time and money by easily finding the closest and cheapest parking.

Article after article points out that Los Angeles is on its way to becoming one of the most robust startup communities in the United States. We have seen this growth first hand, and are always impressed by the community’s appetite for learning new age technical skills. A class we produce here at General Assembly called “Intro to the LA Startup Community”, has turned into a series, each time presented by a different prominent person in the startup ecosystem providing a unique perspective on the tech scene in LA.

Cloud systems technology is finding its way onto every online application nowadays. The freedom to not be bound to a specific system can make life much easier for individuals and groups alike. ChatWork is implementing the cloud system in their collaboration platform for businesses and individuals to help stay connected and updated

Marketing executives are increasingly tasked with analyzing more and more channels and tactics. Let’s take a look at some promotional tactics and spends in this infographic for an overall look at cost per impression. Remember marketing folks, this is impression, not conversion — a metric slowing losing it’s sheen amongst the nation’s web savvy marketers.